Thumbs up: All hands on for whittling club

London – Guests were encouraged to get creative with a knife and a block of wood at the Bleeding Thumb Whittling Club on Wednesday evening, hosted by fashion boutique B Store.

Guests learned about the forgotten art of whittling – the casual practice of creating objects from wood using just a knife. Intricate objects made by club members were on display. Small totems and figures were shown in the store window. And tools, such as handmade knives by Janina Pedan, were displayed in a wooden box. Some ambitious guests even tried their hand, and thumb, at whittling their own object from wood.

The night ended with a short banjo performance by club founder Jack Brennan, who had built the instrument himself with whittled pieces.

Creative and hands-on, the Bleeding Thumb Whittling Club suggests a wider trend, which we expect to develop further, for the revival of forgotten behaviour and traditions.